Crimean gold treasures must be returned to Ukraine, Dutch court rules

A priceless collection of gold artefacts from Crimea that was on loan to a Dutch museum when Russia seized the peninsula must be returned to Ukraine and not Crimea, a Dutch court ruled on Wednesday in a judgement likely to anger Moscow.

Kiev and the four museums have been wrangling over the fate of the archaeological treasures, including gems, helmets and scabbards, which were on loan to Amsterdam’s Allard Pierson Museum when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March, 2014. A spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin tweeted: “This is an important victory for Ukraine.”

There was no immediate reaction from Russian officials, but the ruling was likely to anger Moscow which insists it has full sovereignty over the Black Sea peninsula which houses a major Russian naval base.

The annexation, following the toppling of a pro-Russian president in Kiev, triggered the biggest confrontation between the Kremlin and the West since the end of the cold war in 1991. It brought Western sanctions against Moscow and complications in the international arena for Crimean organisations from sports teams and cultural institutions to commerce.

Some Crimeans greeted the decision with dismay. “I don’t think it was a good idea to bring this before court,” said Valentina Mordvinsteva, a historian and the exhibition’s Crimea-based original curator, choking back tears. “After this ruling what should Crimean people think about Ukraine?” she said.

The exhibition, its centrepiece a 4th century BC Scythian helmet, highlighted the rich history of the peninsula, a staging post on the silk road between from China to Europe, where Russian, Greek, Turkish cultures have met since ancient times.